Re Ganesha - I was in Bali recently and Ganesh images were everywhere. The island is Hindu, although with a fairly strong Buddhist influence, but the locals were quite definite that he wasn't a god, like Shiva or Brahma, but only a 'protector'. I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?

Kim OHara wrote:but the locals were quite definite that he wasn't a god, like Shiva or Brahma, but only a 'protector'. I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?

This is, apparently (and I am someone who has never been there and has only read this), very indicative of the current religio-political climate in Indonesia.

Religions ambiguous "need" to be at least quasi-monotheistic to be legal for practice (like, I am pretty sure you can be anything you want at home, but if you want to build a religious centre of some kind it needs to be for a "recognized" religion, as far as I know).

This is why you have things like the classifying of Confucianism as a monotheistic religion worshipping God/Tian in Indonesia so that the ethnic Chinese could go back to their traditional temples (and continue to build and maintain them) and still observe rule of law.

It could be worse. Buddhism doesn't even exist in Israel***. Christians cannot gather publicly for worship outside of churches in Egypt (and are banned from constructing new churches).

***apparently this is based on dated info from the 90s. Israel now has "legal" Buddhism and Dharma Centres, apparently.

如無為，如是難見、不動、不屈、不死、無漏、覆蔭、洲渚、濟渡、依止、擁護、不流轉、離熾焰、離燒然、流通、清涼、微妙、安隱、無病、無所有、涅槃。Like this is the uncreated, like this is that which is difficult to realize, with no moving, no bending, no dying. Utterly lacking secretions and smothered in the dark, it is the island shore. Where there is ferrying, it is the crossing. It is dependency's ceasing, it is the end of circulating transmissions. It is the exhaustion of the flame, it is the ending of the burning. Flowing openly, pure and cool, with secret subtlety, and calm occultation, lacking ailment, lacking owning, nirvāṇa.Asaṁskṛtadharmasūtra, Sermon on the Uncreated Phenomenon, T99.224b7, Saṁyuktāgama 890

Kim OHara wrote:Re Ganesha - ... I wonder if Thai Buddhists make that distinction between the rank/importance of Brahma and Ganesha?
Kim

Possibly there is no clear distinction between Brahma and Ganesha about the rank/importance in Thai Buddhists.

But Ganesha worship seems completely irrelevant to the Pali Buddhism. Is this worship only found in the Thai Buddhist tradition?

I personally feel that Brahma worship has better connection to the Pali Buddhism. This is because only Pali texts mentioned Brahma Sahampati requested the Buddha to teach the Dhamma to the world. The Buddha accepted the Brahma's request, out of compassion (see CHOONG Mun-keat, 2014, 'A comparison of the Pali and Chinese Versions of the Brahma Samyutta, a Collection of Early Buddhist Discourses on Brahmas, the Exalted Gods', Buddhist Studies Review 31 (2): pp. 187-188).